Toronto’s 10 Best Apartment Rental Websites

If you’re looking for your next Toronto home, you might feel like you have a daunting task ahead of you. At liv.rent, we know renting can be easy, so let us show you how. To help you save time, we’re going over all the best apartment rental sites in Toronto for when you need to start the search for your next home.

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Once you see the features that each platform offers and get a chance to compare their key differences, then you’re going to be able to make the best decisions moving forward. Whether you’re listing a rental property of your own or you’re a renter searching for Toronto rentals and homes for rent in Toronto, the tools you use matter.

Let’s dive into our list of the best Toronto rental websites now. You can use the table of contents below to jump ahead to #1.

How do I find rentals in Toronto?

The best way to find apartment rentals in Toronto is by checking what listings are available online. There is a myriad of options available, from liv.rent to Kijiji, and more. These types of rental apps function as apartment search engines, allowing you to scout out properties for rent from the comfort of your home.

However, some like to walk around their preferred neighbourhood and see the “for rent” signs on the lawns and in the windows of buildings, calling the numbers listed to inquire about a unit. Still, in today’s digital-first world, using an app or website is the go-to option for many in Toronto.

But there are so many to choose from when it comes to the best websites for finding apartments, so where should you start? And, if you’re a landlord or property manager, what listings platform makes the most sense for you? Let’s look now at our list of the most popular rental listings sites in Toronto:

1. liv.rent

liv.rent is a Vancouver-based all-in-one rental platform that allows landlords and tenants to rent safely and securely thanks to an extensive verification process and tools like the Trust Score. As you can see, the platform unsurprisingly ticks all of our boxes, and has a variety of flexible payment options for landlords to get started and rent better.

Renters

On liv.rent, tenants can easily search for rentals using a variety of filters and even a map view, then quickly message landlords for more information using built-in instant chat. From there, they can submit applications, book viewings and when it comes time, sign lease agreements and pay rent and security deposits through a variety of methods including credit card, UnionPay and even Bitcoin.

Landlords

For landlords, liv.rent provides pre-filled listing templates to help you create attractive, effective listing pages with ease, as well as the ability to include photos and videos and tools to allow for sharing to other platforms like Craigslist and Kijiji. Simply put, liv.rent is the best website to post a rental property for landlords.

The platform also has standard digital lease agreements for Ontario, in addition to a variety of customizable lease addendums to add detail to your contract. For quick and effective tenant screening, liv.rent created the Trust Score, which gives landlords a comprehensive picture of a tenant’s suitability including a credit summary, a detailed risk assessment, income & employment verification, and more. All in all, this complete platform is the best way to advertise your apartment for rent.

For landlords looking to further streamline their rental process and gain access to the same tools used by professional property managers, liv.rent’s new Growth plan is here to make renting even easier. The Growth plan is effectively an all-in-one property management software package, with all the tools you’ll need to digitize and streamline your rental process from start to finish. For just $48/month, this comprehensive plan includes:

• Unlimited lease protection addendums
• 2 Trust Score reports with credit check per month
• Automated rental advertising (2 per month)
• Shared management tools for up to 3 users

…plus everything in our Essentials plan.

2. Zumper

Zumper and liv.rent are the only students in the class who get top marks. It’s also worth noting that Padmapper exists underneath the Zumper platform with similar functionality. For renters, one of the biggest distinctions would be that there are more digital rent payment options for liv.rent users, including payment by credit card, UnionPay, and even Bitcoin.

For landlords and property managers the difference that you can’t see in the chart above is that liv.rent leads tend to be much higher quality than inquiries from other platforms.

In addition to being a rental listings platform, we’re also a community of safe and trusted landlords and renters, which is a huge strength of ours.

3. RentCafe

RentCafe more than holds its own among Toronto rental platforms with a solid 10 out of 12 features. The popular apartment rental site is available across Canada and the United States and offers a similarly comprehensive renting experience with the ability to create contracts and pay & receive rent payments within the platform.

4. RentSeeker

Listing syndication, which allows you to publish a listing onto various social networks, is a top feature for RentSeeker. Both renters and landlords will find that platforms with a direct way to apply to listings and chat features for streamlined communication are missing from RentSeeker though.

5. Condos.ca

Condos.ca has a lot of the basics you need to rent a home in Toronto. Marketing plans are a big plus for landlords, especially during a renters market, and tenant inquiries make it easy for renters to have their questions answered. But without a chat feature or rental payment options, it’s still a bit barebones.

6. Kijiji

Kijiji is extremely popular in Toronto and comes with more features than Craigslist does. However, it does not have the capacity to accept applications directly from tenants, and so, offers no screening opportunities.

7. Realtor.ca

Realtor.ca is another top website in terms of popularity. Having an app is handy for when you’re on the go and about to spend a day viewing listings. However, without digital contracts and rent payments, it’s still a bit old-school and may prefer to save paper in the rental process.

8. Rentals.ca

Rentals.ca should be a good place to look for rentals, after all, it’s in the name! But look closely at what they offer and you’ll see that they’re not fully digitizing the rental process so you might end up having to do more leg work than if you went with another platform. Also, it’s worth noting that TorontoRentals.com is part of the Rentals.ca Network.

9. Craigslist

Craigslist is a great platform because you can shop for furniture and hire movers all on the same website where you find your apartment. Unfortunately, it does not come with a lot of the key features you need to safely and efficiently rent a home in the same way that other platforms allow.

10. 4rent

4rent is a popular rental listings website that offers listing pages and organizational tools. However, it does fall short in other categories, notably, it does not have an app or a chat feature, which can allow for instant communication between landlords and tenants.

What is the best website to find rental homes?

Whether you’re a renter or a landlord, you need to use the right tools to get you the results you want, because no one wants to waste time or energy on the rental process if they don’t have to.

After taking a look at the different features and pricing options available, it’s clear that liv.rent is the superior choice. Although Zumper seems like a close second, liv.rent is extremely innovative and responsive to client needs.

For example, when our community wanted new payment options, we introduced “Pay by Bitcoin” as a feature for renters paying rent.

What is the best rental app?

Not all of the platforms listed included an app version, but liv.rent can work both on your desktop and your phone via our own phone application. While it might not seem like a necessity, having access to the app is super helpful for both landlords and renters, especially when you’re on the go a lot.

Plus, if the perfect unit or tenant comes up, then having all of liv.rent’s features in your pocket will help you communicate instantly and get you the results you want.

FAQ: The best apartment rental websites in Toronto

How do I find good rentals in Toronto?

A good apartment rental website or rental app can go a long way in helping to streamline your search for housing. This list should provide a good idea of where to begin your search, but you can also try walking around the neighbourhoods you’re looking in, or enlist the services of a Realtor.

If you do choose to rent online, it’s important to use a platform with verified landlords and listings, like liv.rent, in order to avoid rental scams.

What is the best website for finding rentals?

We might be a bit biased, but our rankings here clearly indicate that liv.rent comes out on top in terms of the best Toronto rental sites. With a full 12/12 features, not to mention additional functionality like Bitcoin rent payments, verified landlords & listings, built-in tenant screening and so much more, there’s a clear winner for the city’s best rental app.

What is the best way to find an apartment in Toronto?

Ultimately, renters should try to find an apartment-hunting method that works for them. With competition so tough for rentals across the country, renters might have to use multiple listing sites before they find the right place.

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